Qualla: 2014 Mayflower-Vilonia Tornado

2014 Mayflower-Vilonia Tornado: Introduction

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jeremy Peterson, Public domain. The Storm Prediction Center saw it coming six days out. By April 27, 2014, the forecasters had issued a rare high risk warning for central Arkansas, anticipating supercells capable of producing intense tornadoes. At 7:06 p.m. CDT, the prediction became reality when a tornado touched down in western Pulaski County, east of Paron, and began tracking north-northeast. Over the next 56 minutes, it would tear through the communities of Mayflower and Vilonia, kill 16 people, injure 193 others, and spark a debate within the meteorological community about whether the Enhanced Fujita Scale can accurately measure the most violent storms.

Image: Jeremy Peterson | Public domain

2014 Mayflower-Vilonia Tornado: The Warning That Worked

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain. The meteorological setup was textbook severe weather. A strong mid-level shortwave trough had developed into a closed low-pressure system over the central High Plains, while a trailing cold front pushed eastward across Kansas, Oklahoma, and northern Texas. Warm sector supercells ...

Image: The White House from Washington, DC | Public domain

2014 Mayflower-Vilonia Tornado: Mayflower Takes the First Blow

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain. After touching down at EF1 strength and quickly intensifying, the tornado entered Faulkner County and struck the River Plantation subdivision at the southwest edge of Mayflower at EF4 intensity. Large two-story homes were leveled, leaving only piles of debris on bare foundations....

Image: The White House from Washington, DC | Public domain

2014 Mayflower-Vilonia Tornado: Vilonia's Second Strike

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain. Vilonia had already been hit by an EF2 tornado from the 2011 Super Outbreak just three years earlier. This time, the storm arrived at high-end EF4 strength. It first struck the recently built Vilonia Middle School, destroying the top floor and collapsing most walls. Then it moved...

Image: The White House from Washington, DC | Public domain

2014 Mayflower-Vilonia Tornado: The Rating That Divided Experts

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain. The final EF4 rating became the tornado's second controversy. The National Weather Service office in Little Rock acknowledged that under the old Fujita Scale, the tornado likely would have been rated F5 -- the highest possible -- based on the number of homes swept cleanly from th...

Image: The White House from Washington, DC | Public domain

2014 Mayflower-Vilonia Tornado: Sixteen Names

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jeremy Peterson, Public domain. The tornado remained on the ground for 56 minutes and traveled along a path stretching across parts of Saline, Pulaski, Faulkner, and White Counties. Sixteen people were killed, ranging in age from 7-year-old Tyler Smith and 9-year-old Cameron Smith of Vilonia to 82-year-old Robe...

Image: Jeremy Peterson | Public domain